want a 3.5 but likely 3.1 gpa - 2nd year undergrad

[student3]

I’ve just discovered this forum (thank God) so this might be a bit of a dump, please bear with me. I’ve just finished the first semester of second year of my undergrad, currently recovering my academics from newly diagnosed mental health/ADHD difficulties (in first year). I’ve put in a lot of work, and with the help of medication that is finally well calibrated there’s a major turn in my grades but my gpa is still not great. I’m in an honours program (if that’s good for anything), and essentially if I get straight A-‘s for the next 3-5 semesters (I’ve moved from taking 3 courses per semester to 4) I can easily attain an 8.something gpa which would translate to 3.1gpa on the 4.0 scale. I want more than anything to go to law school and I’m willing to put in all the work necessary to do so if I still have a realistic shot. I’ve started getting familiar with LSAT practice exams and have bought a book on how to study for it. So my question is, if I do graduate with just a 3.1 what LSAT score would realistically give me a good chance at admission to Ontario law schools? also if anyone has any advice on what to do/how I can raise my gpa- I’ve seen people talk about taking extra credits? just not sure how that works since I thought undergrad had a fixed amount of credits for you to graduate. 

Thanks a lot in advance :)

[Yogurt Baron]

Hi!

You remind me of me twenty years ago, except you've got a better attitude and your stats presumably aren't as dire, so let me give you the advice I needed twenty years ago but would never have been able to hear or take.

My grades were absolutely terrible in my first attempt at undergrad, due to health issues. I ended up having to completely do my degree over in order to get into law school. I was in my late twenties by the time I had the stats to get into law school, and into my thirties by the time I had the stats to get into a good law school.

Reading between the lines of your post, you seem to be doing some of what I did in my first undergrad: "I've got ten Fs on my transcript, but if I start doing better now, can I still get into law school as if I'd never hit a bump in the road?" And the answer to that is yes and no - yes, anyone with the ability can get into law school, no matter how bad your transcript is looking today; but no, you cannot magical-thinking your way out of any hole you're in right now so effectively as to undo the fact that you were ever in that hole. Will "straight A-s" (a concept that makes me smile) be enough to get you into law school on the timeline you want? Maybe, maybe not - it depends how bad your numbers are now, what your natural aptitudes are for the LSAT and for your studies, how your health holds up, and whether you get hit by a bus tomorrow. No one can answer that for you.

What I can say is that if you truly "want more than anything to go to law school and [are] willing to put in all the work necessary to do so", you can almost definitely make that happen. If, like a lot of people, law school admission is for you just the brass ring you're hoping to grasp in order to demonstrate that you've never had health problems...well, you have had health problems, and you can't undo that. You can build from where you are now, if you want to. It may just take extra time and effort. If you're comfortable with that and able to manage it, you can get where you want to be.

[scooter]

Many schools look at a GPA number that is not your overall cumulative GPA - best two years, last two years, best three years, etc. Many students have a bad first year of undergrad, then make improvements and get into law school. If you do well in the remainder of your undergrad then that first year will carry less weight in the admissions process. 
 

 

[student3]

2 hours ago, Yogurt Baron said:

Hi!

You remind me of me twenty years ago, except you've got a better attitude and your stats presumably aren't as dire, so let me give you the advice I needed twenty years ago but would never have been able to hear or take.

My grades were absolutely terrible in my first attempt at undergrad, due to health issues. I ended up having to completely do my degree over in order to get into law school. I was in my late twenties by the time I had the stats to get into law school, and into my thirties by the time I had the stats to get into a good law school.

Reading between the lines of your post, you seem to be doing some of what I did in my first undergrad: "I've got ten Fs on my transcript, but if I start doing better now, can I still get into law school as if I'd never hit a bump in the road?" And the answer to that is yes and no - yes, anyone with the ability can get into law school, no matter how bad your transcript is looking today; but no, you cannot magical-thinking your way out of any hole you're in right now so effectively as to undo the fact that you were ever in that hole. Will "straight A-s" (a concept that makes me smile) be enough to get you into law school on the timeline you want? Maybe, maybe not - it depends how bad your numbers are now, what your natural aptitudes are for the LSAT and for your studies, how your health holds up, and whether you get hit by a bus tomorrow. No one can answer that for you.

What I can say is that if you truly "want more than anything to go to law school and [are] willing to put in all the work necessary to do so", you can almost definitely make that happen. If, like a lot of people, law school admission is for you just the brass ring you're hoping to grasp in order to demonstrate that you've never had health problems...well, you have had health problems, and you can't undo that. You can build from where you are now, if you want to. It may just take extra time and effort. If you're comfortable with that and able to manage it, you can get where you want to be.

I honestly can’t tell you how much I appreciate this response! 🙂 You’ve given me a lot to consider but also the bit of hope I really needed.

I understand your point about illness- I guess I’m now starting to feel some anxiety because I know with my health issues my degree will take me longer than my peers if I also want the grades for law school, but funnily enough the only thing that refocuses me is the idea of practicing law at some point in my future, and I don’t want this to hold me back.

I’m trying to be careful about that “magical thinking” which is kind of why I came here, to get some realistic advice and get my mindset corrected. It gives me a lot of hope knowing that you were in a similar situation and truly succeeded through a path I hadn’t considered before, so thank you so much for sharing.

I think if I put in twice as many hours (which is probably what I should’ve been doing already) then I can really have a shot. I know it sounds naive and silly, but I dont think I realized just how much effort would be required? not that I see that as a bad thing but more like “okay! a real challenge!”, since throughout high school- until first year of uni, I never had to do a lot of heavy duty work to get good grades (which is why my psychiatrist believes it took so long for my parents & I to identify my underlying issues). Now that the opportunity for that level of effort presents itself and I’ve got the support I need, I’m ready to try my best and see where that takes me 🙂

Edited April 27 by student3

[Yogurt Baron]

As I said, good attitude!

Scooter is also correct here - unlike American schools, which tend (or at least tended back in my day) to look at your whole GPA, Canadian schools have various ways of slicing and dicing your GPA. Some only consider some of your best grades; some consider all of your grades, but via a holistic process that will contextualize a difficult year or two. You didn't say much about the specifics of your grades (nor am I asking), but if your problem looks like "a bad year or two", that can be overcome - really pretty easily, assuming you have the skills to do well in the rest of your degree.

I suspect you're going to be fine. Best of luck, and keep us posted through your journey.

[student3]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:00 PM, Yogurt Baron said:

As I said, good attitude!

Scooter is also correct here - unlike American schools, which tend (or at least tended back in my day) to look at your whole GPA, Canadian schools have various ways of slicing and dicing your GPA. Some only consider some of your best grades; some consider all of your grades, but via a holistic process that will contextualize a difficult year or two. You didn't say much about the specifics of your grades (nor am I asking), but if your problem looks like "a bad year or two", that can be overcome - really pretty easily, assuming you have the skills to do well in the rest of your degree.

I suspect you're going to be fine. Best of luck, and keep us posted through your journey.

That’s great, thanks again! & will do 🙂